Through All These Years
by layshie
Summary: Karen growing up through her teenage years, trying to find happiness. Rated M just to be safe.
1. Devastation

**A/N: Newest story from me! Sorry it took so long I've been having massive writer's block and just recently got through it. This story is dedicated to my father. RIP 6-16-07. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own the character of Karen or any of the Will & Grace characters I may use. No copyright infringement intended.**

Young Karen Delaney sat in her desk of her 1st grade class staring at the clock. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3,2,1. DING! The bell rang and all you could hear for the next few minutes was the grating of the chairs across the floor as all the seven year olds got up to leave. "Have a nice summer everyone!" The teacher called from her own desk. A wave of relief came over Karen when she stepped out of the school into the warm summer air. No more school for three months!

Karen ran to the playground with her friends, laughing. She crossed the monkey bars and romped in the sandbox to get to swing on the swing set to wait for her father to come pick her up. Other students on the swings were talking about their summer vacations. "I'm going down to Texas this summer!" One little girl said. "Well, I'm going to Chicago!" Another girl piped up. Both big places for the small Oklahoma town that Karen lived in. Karen thought for a moment and realized her family rarely ever would go anywhere for the summer. Suddenly she saw a figure walking towards the swing set from the distance.

After a moment Karen recognized the person as her dad. She leaped from the swing in the air and ran to greet her dad. "Hey Kiki!" Her dad said as he picked her up and swung her around. "Hi Daddy!" Karen said, all smiles. "Ready to go home?" Karen nodded. They walked back to the car hand in hand.

As he started the car, it vibrated. They rumbled down the street, the brakes screeching as it slowed down. "Sweetie, how was your last day at school?" Her father asked. "Umm, good. But Daddy why don't we ever go anywhere for summer?" She looked up at her father. His golden brown locks and sharp features shined and shadowed respectively against the sun. He looked towards her, "Tell ya what Keeks. We'll plan to go somewhere this summer. I promise, Okay?" Karen smiled and nodded, excited for the upcoming plans with her family.

After a couple minutes of driving the car pulled into the driveway. As small as the town was, Karen's family were the wealthiest there. They had all the luxuries the other people didn't have. A fenced in yard with an in-ground pool. More than five separate rooms, a fireplace in a couple of them.

When they finally got into the house Karen's mother, Lois was waiting for them. Lois quickly hugged Karen and went to go greet her husband. Karen looked at them when her dad planted a kiss on her cheek. She saw how her mother glowed when she was with her father. Karen left that area and went to her room, which was on the first floor.

As she arrived in her room, there was a box, wrapped in shiny gold with pink striped wrapping paper, in the center room. Karen's face lit up so much it was as if she was staring at the sun if it were only two feet away. She stuck her head out into the hallway to see her beaming parents and her dad saying, "Open it sweetheart."

Karen ran back into the room and gracefully ripped off the wrapping paper. The box contained a My Size Barbie DollÓ that was meant to look like Karen: Dark hair, and hazel eyes. Lois chimed in to say, "It's from both of us." "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She said as she hugged her dad tightly. Karen knew even if it was from both of them, Dad picked it out and paid for it. Her dad smiled and said, "Think of it as a last day of school present." Karen nodded and turned her attention to the doll.

Karen made fast friends with her doll, whom she named Mabel after one of her friend's many cows that she liked. She would bring Mabel everywhere, to the park, church, even to the grocery store a couple days later.

"So Me and your mom have been talking Kiki. We think it's a wonderful idea to go somewhere this summer." Karen's father said lovingly at her. "Really?" Karen's eyes opening wide in eagerness. "Mhm, You decide the place and we'll set everything up." Father and Daughter were traveling down a street, the quickest route to the supermarket that was a city away. Karen was too busy thinking about where to go to notice that a stop sign was coming up and they weren't slowing down.

When Karen finally noticed she looked up at her dad, his leg was pumping the brakes but nothing was happening. The panic was eminent in his face. When he looked over at Karen he tried to hide it the best he could. "You know I love you so much Karen, right?" Karen whimpered and nodded, he rarely ever used her actual name. "Trust me then." With that he swerved the car to the right, rolling into a ditch. Karen could feel the seatbelt constricting her as the car rolled and turned upside down until everything went black.

When Karen woke up, all she could see was white as her eyes adjusted to the light. She looked around the room and noticed her mom sitting in a chair trying to hold herself together. "…Mommy?" Karen said weakly. Her mom looked up at the sound of her voice. Tears filling her eyes as she got up and hugged Karen the tightest she can remember. "Karen, I'm so happy you're awake!"

"Mommy, what happened?" Karen asked. Lois burst into tears again, "You've been in an accident sweetie." Not grasping the intensity of the situation. "What kind of accident? Like the time I went potty in the bed?" Lois laughed slightly, taking notice of Karen's innocence about the situation.

Before Lois could answer the doctor walked in, Oh! She's up! How do you feel Karen?" The doctor said in his best not-trying-to-sound-superior voice. "Good, but my head hurts." The doctor chuckled, "That should go away soon. Well Mrs. Delaney, all the tests have returned with good results. She can go home. If you would like to step into the hallway we can talk about Mr. Delaney's situation." Lois looked back at Karen and braced herself to stand up.

After they walked into the hallway Karen got up from the bed and put her ear against the bottom of the door to hear what the doctor was saying. "Mr. Delaney is in critical condition. He doesn't seem to be getting better." Karen heard her mom gasp at this. The doctor continued, "We've tried all we can but nothing's working. We will run more tests on him and there are a couple more procedures we can do but it's a very slim chance he'll make it."

The shadows of the doctor's feet walked away while Lois' walked towards the door. Karen leaped up from the door and ran into her bed. "Is Daddy going to be alright Mommy?" Lois looked up at her daughter who looked like a spitting image of herself, the only thing of her father's she seemed to have inherited was his high-pitched, squeaky voice. Oh how she fell in love with that voice. A tear fell down her cheek as she thought about when they first met and all the memories leading up to now thinking if they will be able to make more in the future. "He should sweetheart." Even as the sentence lingered in the air of the silent hospital room, it sounded unsure. "Let's go wait for Daddy in the waiting room ok?" They left the room and proceeded to the waiting room where many people were waiting patiently, hoping their loved ones will come back to them unscathed.

Lois sat Karen on one of the couches and paced around the room anxious for what the doctors will say about her husband's condition. Karen swung her feet, which were inches above the floor, and looked at the ground, watching her mom pace gave her an unsettling feeling. They both saw doctors scurry from his room to a different room down the hall and back with new supplies in their hands. A couple of hours passed and they still hadn't heard anything. By this time, Lois was sitting on the couch with Karen's head in her lap sleeping, stroking her hair for comfort.

Lois was awoken by the doctor tapping her shoulder. She looked at her lap and noticed Karen moved and was snuggled in the corner of the couch. As Lois got up and looked at the doctor, she could tell something was wrong by his stern expression. Karen slowly woke up as she felt her mother's weight from the couch disappear. "Mrs. Delaney, I'm afraid I have bad news…" The tears already welling up in her eyes, Lois managed to say, "What is it doctor?" The doctor looked at the ground before looking back up into Lois' eyes. "I'm afraid Mr. Delaney has passed away. He died about 5 minutes." Karen sat up when she heard the word death. She was familiar with it because she once had a goldfish that died and watched it go away as her parents flushed it down the toilet. Karen saw her mom sitting on the short coffee table, silently weeping. Karen looked up at the doctor and saw his eyes filling up with tears also, "I'm so sorry. My condolences to you and your entire family." He left after he said that. "Mom?" Karen got off the couch, going towards her mom. Lois hugged Karen and breathed into her shoulder, "I'm so sorry Karen. So sorry--" Karen hugged her mom back, holding back tears as the reality of the whole thing sank in slightly.

**I hope you liked the first chapter! Please review I would like to know what you thought of it and it'll really help me be motivated to write the rest of the chapters.**


	2. Disappointment

**A/N: So sorry! I suckkk so bad at updating my stories but here is the next chapter finally! Hope you like it and sorry it's short I just couldn't think of what to write after that last paragraph.**

Lois and Karen sat like that for at least 10 minutes. As each minute passed the loneliness and emptiness became more real, and hurt that much more. For Lois as the minutes went by it left her feeling unsettled and afraid for the future. She knew that she wouldn't be able to afford the house and all the luxuries that came with it, and she wasn't ready to let all of that go just yet. Which is when she got the sinister idea of conning old men out of their money to keep her afloat and to be able to afford all the luxuries she lusted after.

Karen left to go to the bathroom and when she returned her mother's things where on the couch but she was nowhere to be found. So Karen just patiently waited by their stuff until 5 minutes later when Lois walked out of someone's room. Karen didn't think much of it at the time. "Ready to go home?" Lois asked looking at her daughter. Karen just nodded and started walking to the main entrance.

When Lois and Karen returned home they both could tell things were about to change, and not necessarily for the better. Without talking to her mom at all, Karen went into her bedroom and shut the door. She laid on her bed hugging Mabel and crying her eyes out. Big, silent tears were falling down her face into Mabel's human-like hair.

For the next hour Karen wept thinking about all the good times with her father. Knowing she wouldn't have anymore hurt her more than any other memory. She thought about all the big things to come in her life. When she graduated from high school she would look up in the stands and not see him sitting there cheering her on. At her wedding he wouldn't be there to walk her down the aisle to give her away to her husband. If she ever had children, he wouldn't be the wonderful grandfather she knew he would've been.

Just recalling her last thoughts Karen realized she had developed into someone very different then who she was just twenty-four hours ago. This Karen was much more darker, deep, and sad but she knew she would put on a brave face in front of anyone she met. Meanwhile in the other room, Lois was on the phone talking to her mother about moving in there until Lois could get them back on their feet. After Lois hung up she knocked on Karen's door and entered to tell her the news.

"What?!" A tear-stained Karen asked startled. She looked down at Mabel and hugged her tighter, not ready to let go. "I'm sorry sweetie, we have to sell our stuff. It just won't fit at Grandma's."

After they settled in with Karen's grandmother Lois would often disappear for a couple of hours not telling anyone where she was going, leaving Karen to play with the old Barbie dolls her grandmother had.

A week passed while they were at Karen's grandmother's house. Everyday was relatively the same, Lois would leave and not return for the next few hours, Grandma would make Karen lunch and talk with her as to not make her feel lonely. One day when Lois returned from wherever she was, Karen was in her room when she heard her grandma start yelling at Lois. She heard snippets of the argument like, "She is YOUR child Lois take care of her! Whatever you're doing now isn't half as important as being the mother to your child who just lost her father!" Then Lois yelled back, "Mother I've lost someone too! The only man I've ever loved is gone! And it's taken me a bit to get back on track for a normal life!" Their voices fell to a drone where Karen couldn't hear anything for a while. Soon, Lois' voice rang out "Mom, if you just wait for a couple more weeks I promise you everything will get back to normal." Her grandma said something and it seemed the argument had stopped for now.

The next day they had the funeral at a local funeral home. Karen dressed in a black velvet dress and little black dress up shoes. Her hair was pulled back into a half-ponytail. Karen's grandmother took her to the funeral home because Lois was missing once again. They sat in the foyer of the place while the rest of the family arrived, scared of going into the room where his open casket was. Afraid of what will happen when they see him.

They all decided to go as a group into the room, without Lois. A few family members burst into tears right when they walked into the room. The room was cold, the feeling of death lingered in the air. Karen grabbed hold of her grandma's hand as they walked a small procession to the casket.

They were the first one's to reach it. Karen wasn't tall enough so she stood on her tiptoes and peered into the casket. As she looked at her father lying there tears formed into her eyes. It wasn't him. It wasn't the man who would greet her after school or be the first to sing happy birthday to her on her birthdays. The laugh lines were there on his face but there wasn't the laughter. All that was left was a solemn, "peaceful" look.

Karen turned away, she didn't want her last memory of her father to be seeing him laying there lifeless. She walked across the room and sat in a row that was near the back. Karen watched every sobbing person who passed her to realize her father would truly be missed. Her hazel eyes welled up with sadness again but quickly turned to anger as she realized her mother wasn't even here to witness everything. Every relative, friend, and neighbor who passed Karen said they were sorry. She found herself not knowing what to say anymore to them. "It's Okay," and "Thank You," didn't seem sufficient enough, eventually she just nodded in their direction.

**I'm hoping to update faster this time. But I can't guarantee it'll be up within the week. Please review!!**


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